ill-treated the detained person.298 This is also the case in at least one other OSCE participating State.299 In addition to ensuring that the examinations themselves are confidential, medical staff should also ensure that the reports of medical examinations remain confidential, including from police. 128. In a number of countries, if the victim of torture can afford an independent medical examination, they may request one and pay for it themselves. However, in some countries, examinations conducted independently are not permitted as evidence or are perceived as less reliable than state medical examinations in court. In one Eastern European OSCE participating State, for example, only medico-legal reports provided by government officials are accepted as evidence in national courts to prove that torture occurred.300 Promising practice 129. A number of countries across the OSCE region have taken positive steps towards training medical professionals on the standards contained in the Istanbul Protocol. In one South-Eastern European state, CSOs facilitated training for doctors from local medical institutions on the Istanbul Protocol during 2018 and 2019. Doctors who completed the training received accreditation, which provided an incentive for taking part.301 In one OSCE participating State in Central Asia, the Ministry of Health worked with CSOs and state entities to create clinical guidance based on the Istanbul Protocol for medical professionals, forensic experts and forensic psychiatrists.302 More than 500 doctors and medical workers have been trained so far, and the training has been introduced into the curriculum of the Medical Academy.303 130. In addition to ensuring there are sufficient trained forensic medical professionals to carry out forensic medical examinations, states should also be encouraged 298 CPT, ‘Report to the Government of Serbia on the visit to Serbia carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 31 May to 7 June 2017’, 21 June 2018, CPT/Inf (2018) 21, para. 37. 299 Questionnaire response Hungarian Helsinki Committee (2019). 300 Questionnaire response Promo Lex (Moldova) (2019). 301 Questionnaire response Belgrade Human Rights Centre (Serbia) (2019). 302 Convention Against Torture Initiative, ‘PROCEDURES AND MECHANISMS TO HANDLE COMPLAINTS OF AND INVESTIGATIONS INTO TORTURE OR OTHER ILL-TREATMENT’, UNCAT Implementation Tool 7/2019 referring to Kyrgyzstan. 303 Questionnaire response Golos Svobody (Kyrgyzstan) (2019). 82